Postdoctoral fellow Oscar Ovanger, a statistician from Norway, contributes to multiple Planet Texas 2050 projects, applying statistical modeling and machine learning to everything from birds to archeology.

In 2025, Good Systems researchers partnered with the City of Austin to develop ethics-first AI training for city employees, helping staff navigate emerging technologies with a focus on accountability, transparency and public trust.

The global AI race is underway, as countries compete to keep up with the rapidly evolving technology. With Austin emerging as a center of AI innovation, the people studying and working with the technology are shaping not only what it means for the U.S. to compete, but also the cost that comes with it.

A cross‑disciplinary team at UT Austin is researching how AI can better support American Indian and Alaska Native nations in flood preparedness. Their project, AI²: Ancestral Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence for Flood Mitigation, was awarded seed funding through Good Systems’ internal competition, aimed at advancing human-centered AI

An interdisciplinary team of Whole Communities–Whole Health researchers is launching a new study of air quality and health in southeast Austin, building on questions and concerns raised by community members.

In March, more than 600 leaders in academia, industry, government, nonprofits and the greater Austin community gathered at UT Austin for the inaugural Texas Symposium on Machine Learning, Responsible AI, and Robotics — organized in partnership by Texas Robotics, the Machine Learning Lab and Good Systems.

Good Systems’ Sharon Strover argues that the Anthropic–Pentagon clash reveals a hard truth about AI governance: corporate ethics are no match for state power, and safety commitments mean little without legal and democratic backing.

A new study led by UT researchers examined the indoor heat vulnerability for single-family homes across the city of Austin.
The project is part of the UT-City CoLab, a collaborative initiative between University of Texas researchers, Austin city leaders and community members.

Seven longtime community partners were recently presented with Community-Engaged Research Champion Awards from Whole Communities–Whole Health (WCWH). The awards, presented at the WCWH Research Symposium on Feb. 6, honored Community Strategy Team (CST) members and community liaisons who have partnered with the initiative for five years or more and whose sustained involvement has helped guide WCWH’s flagship longitudinal study.

Good Systems has awarded seed funding to six interdisciplinary faculty teams researching how AI can be designed in ways that better reflect human values and societal needs. Among the recipients are College of Liberal Arts faculty Yuhao Kang, Jo Hsu and Alison Kafer.